Trousers-stretcher.



M. H. HANSEN.- THOUSER'S STRETCHER.

APPLICATION FILED MAIL-6| |917.

,www Aug. 7, .1917.

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I-I.A HANSEN, OF- CHICAQQ ILLINQIS TROUSERS-STRETCHEIB..

Speication of Letters Patent.

Raimi@ 411g 7 19117 Application sleaiuarphe, 1917.-. Seria; indiaanse..

ToaZZ-fwwmz' may concern.' i

Be it known that I, MARILIsI-I.` HANSEN, a citizen of the United States, residing` at Chicago, in the county. of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements inTrousers-Stretchers, of

. which the following is a specication.

This inventionrelates to trousers stretch;- ers of the type shown,A for example, in the Smyth Patent No. 548,473. The object of the inventionl is` to` make the trousers stretcher adjustable not onlyV to trousers legs of'different widths, but also of differentdegrees of taper, and to accomplish this re,- sult by simple means without the use of spring devices, The invention also relates to other improvements as will be apparent from the following description of one em bodiment of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view of the trousers stretcher in the folded or collapsed condition. Fig. 2 shows in full and dotted lines two different positions of the stretcher bars.

The embodiment herein shown of the invention comprises two longitudinal bars 1 which are preferably formed of folded sheet metal. The bars 1 are herein shown as straight, but it will be understood that they may be of any desired shape rIhe bars 1 are connected by means of links 2 to a crosshead 3, said cross-head being rigidly secured to a central actuating rod 4. As indicated in Fig. 2, the links 2 are pivoted within the bars 1, or, in other words, between the two folds of sheet metal constituting each of said bars. Any suitable means may beemployed to prevent rotation of the cross-head 3 upon the rod 4. Herein said rod is shown as having a flattened end 5 to which the cross-head is riveted.

The rod 4 extends slidably through a sleeve or tubular guide 6 on a slide 7. Said slide is connected by means of links 8 to the bars l.

In order to equalize the swinging movement of the links 8, said links are connected by means of other links 9 to a tubular slide 10 which is mounted to move upon the rod 4.

Any suitable means may be provided to prevent twisting or rotation of the rod 4 with respect to the slide 7, Herein I have shown the rod 4 as bentito provide a parallel portion 1.1 which extends Slsablgy threugh ,a

tubularguide 12` on the ,slide 7, the guides 6 l2 being' parallelto each, other. l

AnyL preferred means maybe employed to press L the bars l against 4the y clothl forming the.trousers leg, Herein Ir have shown a knurled nut 13 engaging` screw-threads formed upon the portion 11 of the rod 4, said nut ,being arranged Atobear against the end-ofthe guide 12.` h

In, practice,A onev ofthe stretchers herein shown is inserted 4into each1 legfofy a Apairof trousers, and the slide 7 pushed inwardly 1112011 there@ .4- SuQh-.mevementof tllelde causesthe bars 1 to move apart into stretching engagement with the trousers leg. Owing to the fact that the member 10 is arranged to slide upon the rod 4, the bars 1 are free to accommodate themselves to various degrees of taper of the trousers leg. That is to say, whether the upper portion of the trousers leg is of large or small diameter, the bars 1 are free to tilt into such position that they bear against diametrically-opposite portions of the trousers leg at the top and bottom and all intermediate points. By turning the nut 13 against the guide 12, the bars 1 are pressed against the trousers leg and are locked in such position.

After the stretchers have been placed in the trousers legs and expanded, they may be suspended by means of the loops formed by the bent upper ends of the rods 4, thereby suspending the garment in inverted position.

I claim as my invention:

1. A trousers stretcher having, in combination, two stretcher bars, a central rod, links connecting one end of said rod to the adjacent end portions of the bars, a slide arranged to move on said rod, links connecting said slide to the other end portions of said bars, a second slide arranged to move on said rod, links connecting the second slide to the second mentioned pair of links, a screwthreaded member fixed to and extending parallel with the central rod, a guide on the lirst mentioned slide into which the screw-threaded member extends, and a nut on the screwthreaded member arranged to bear against the rst slide.

2. A trousers stretcher having, in combination, two stretcher bars, a central rod, a head non-rotatably fixed on the central rod, links connecting said head to the adjacent end portions of the bars, a slide arranged to move on the central rod, links connecting said slide to the other end portions of said bars, a second slide arranged to move on said rod, links connecting the second slide to the second mentioned pair of links, and means carried by one of tivo parts (namely, the central rod and the first slide) for engaging the other of said tWo parts to prevent ap-y proaching movement of the stretcher bars.

3. A; trousers stretcher having, in combination, two stretcher bars, a central rod, a pair of links connecting one end of said rod to the adjacent end portions of the bars, a slide arranged to move on said rod, a pair of links connecting said slide to the other end portions of said bars, a second slide arranged to move on said rod, links connecting the second slide to oneof said pairs of links, the central rod being bent to provide a suspending loop, a portion of said loop extending parallel With the central rod, a guide on the first mentioned slide into which said portion extends, and means to limit relative movement between the first slide and the central rod.

4. A trousers stretcher having, in combination, tWo stretcher bars, a central rod, a head non-rotatably Xed on the central rod, a pair of links connecting said head to the adjacent end portions of the bars, a slide arranged to move on the central rod, means to prevent the slide from turning With rela tion to the central rod, a pair of links connecting said slide to the other end portions of said bars, a second slide arranged to move on said rod, links connecting the second slide to one of said pairs of links, and means carried by one of two parts (namely, the central rod and the first slide) for engaging the other of said tWo parts to prevent approaching movement of the stretcher bars.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

MARIUS H. HANSEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

